Secret industry funding of doctor-led vaping lobby group laid bare

A doctor-led charity leading the fight to legalise the vaping of nicotine and giving the impression it is free of industry ties had accepted initial funding from e-cigarette businesses, Fairfax Media can reveal.

In carefully worded statements on its website and in press releases, the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA) says it doesn't accept tobacco company donations and its directors have no financial relationships with e-cigarette companies, giving the impression it is independent.

But Fairfax Media can reveal ATHRA, created last year and fiercely lobbying for change, had accepted initial funding from vaping interests – $15,000 from e-liquid supplier Nicopharm and $2500 from e-cigarette maker Nicovape – to cover set-up costs.

"We do not say that we do not accept funding from the vaping industry, which is quite separate from the tobacco industry," ATHRA chairman and tobacco treatment specialist Colin Mendelsohn said.

Advertisement

"ATHRA’s acceptance of untied donations from e-cigarette companies is no different to the National Heart Foundation and Cancer Council accepting donations from pharmaceutical companies."

While this statement holds true for the Heart Foundation, the Cancer Council said it rejected drug company money as a matter of policy and principle.

ATHRA's main aim is to overturn the ban on vaping nicotine and give smokers struggling to quit a safer, "life-saving" alternative, which it argues is 95 per cent less harmful.

Seizing the agenda

At the Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) in Poland a few months before establishing ATHRA, Dr Mendelsohn spoke of organising a "public education campaign ... independently run by doctors" to "correct community misperceptions".

He said it would "get funding from the vendors and whoever else – not tobacco companies obviously – but that will be at arm's length, with a view to having a detailed website on safety of e-cigarettes, where to buy them, how to use them".

Since then, ATHRA has made great strides in Australia, managing to generate positive media coverage and forge strong relationships with conservative politicians, triggering public health experts to question who's funding their activities.

In March a parliamentary committee – which usually delivers consensus reports – split on party lines when it handed down a report concluding the nicotine vaping ban should remain, with three Liberal members submitting dissenting statements.

Secret nicotine money

ATHRA had briefly disclosed its relationship with Nicopharm and Nicovape when it published their logos and called them "foundation sponsors" at the bottom of its website.

When asked why it removed the logos, Dr Mendelsohn explained it had received legal advice that mentioning the vaping businesses might be in breach of state and federal laws and it was not trying to "reduce transparency".

"If ATHRA is to achieve its goal of reducing the harm from tobacco smoking in Australia, it will require funding for establishment costs and ongoing expenses," he said.

"The funding provided was unconditional and ATHRA does not directly promote either business. Neither is mentioned on the website or is provided with any direct benefits."

Simon Chapman, emeritus professor of public health at Sydney University, who opposes vaping, said all funding information should be prominently displayed on ATHRA's website.

“All these companies have commercial interests in smoking cessation or vaping. People expect full transparency," he said.